Power Corrupts
by Deus X Machina
Summary: My take on Volume 3 of Heroes. A mysterious force of powered humans frees the prisoners on Level 5 in a campaign to destroy all that keeps them from abusing their powers, including the heroes.
1. Empowered

This is my take on Villains. It includes some original characters and characters from the graphic novels. I hope you enjoy it.

**Chapter 1: Empowered**

Sylar slumped in the trash-filled alley, bleeding and beaten, as he pushed the plunger of the syringe he had taken from Mohinder's lab. The miraculous blood flowed into his system. Sylar marveled as the pain from his injuries faded, the flesh of his wounds melting closed.

He heard the familiar tick-tock in his ears, faint at first, but growing stronger. He heard the rhythmic symphony of reality's linking parts, from the whirling electrons of the atoms around him to the majestic music of the spheres of which the Earth was just one small part. The incredible knowledge filled his mind again. He felt like a blinded man who had regained his sight.

Stretching out his hand, he focused on a discarded spinach can. Straining his mind, the invisible fingers of telekinesis inched out carefully, tiredly, from his hand. They feebly wrapped around the can and pulled. The can slid an inch, then another. Sylar pulled harder and, feeling as if something inside him broke free, the can flew across the alley and into his hand.

Sylar grinned happily. "I'm back."

**XXXXX**

Wearing a black cap and a long black overcoat, Juliet entered the police station. Among the throng of reporters, she slipped in unnoticed. Peering round the corner, she saw former New York Congressman Nathan Petrelli approach the podium and begin his speech. Knowing she had very little time, Juliet fumbled in her pockets for her gun. She dug out the small LadySmith automatic and aimed it at her own chest.

Juliet's power was fascinating. She was able to heal any injury on her body by transferring it onto somebody else. By wounding herself fatally, she was able to kill others with almost no chance of detection. She was like a living Voodoo doll.

As Petrelli said, "I have the ability to…" Juliet fired two bullets into her own chest. Two identical wounds appeared on Nathan Petrelli's chest as Juliet's own wounds healed instantly, the bullets dropping into her hand. As the crowd dissolved into panicked chaos, Juliet closed her coat over her own bloodstained chest, pocketed her gun, and walked out unnoticed.

_Well done, Juliet,_ her mistress's voice whispered in her hand. Her heart fluttered as she smiled brilliantly.


	2. Escape

**Chapter 2: Escape**

_Elle & Sophie, Level 5_

Tears streaming down her face, Elle Bishop walked briskly down the halls of Level Five. Her arms and legs moved of their own volition. Elle was a prisoner in her own body, watching helplessly as her arms and legs were moved by another. She was sharing her brain with another person and, right now, that other person was in the driver's seat. Elle was just a passenger.

Unable to move her eyes on her own, she glanced at the cells as she and her driver passed them by. They contained some of the most dangerous monsters the Company had apprehended. Knox. Flint Gordon. Jesse Murphy. Howard Grigsby. Tina Ramierez. Rachel Morgan. Gideon Tsun. All of them proof for the old adage "Power corrupts."

"Please," she whispered. "Don't do this."

_But I must, _Elle's driver whispered in her mind. _Don't worry. It's for the best. For _all _of us._

Elle felt the familiar energy surge through her body. As the blue light danced around her, she tried to scream but found her jaw clenched shut. The blinding light of her own electricity was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

**XXXXX**

"She rescued us. I say we take her with us."

"She's one of _them,_ Knox."

As Elle slowly regained consciousness she saw two men dressed in prisoner-issue clothing standing over her and arguing hurriedly. The dim lights had gone completely out and sparks were flying from the ruined electric locks.

"She must have let us out for a reason, Jess."

Jesse sighed, not wanting to waste any more time arguing. "Can you carry her yourself?"

"Plenty of scared people up there. Of course." Elle felt herself being lifted off the ground and slung over a man's shoulder.

"Fine. Let's get the hell out of here."

**XXXXX**

As Elle, for reasons unknown to him, unleashed a power surge that released all the Level Five prisoners, Noah Bennet watched the electric lock on his cell door explode in a shower of sparks. Unconcerned, he continued bouncing a tennis ball off the walls of his cell. To keep his family safe, he had agreed to stay with the Company. Besides, if he tried to escape now, he would have both the Company employees and the prisoners trying to kill him.

He kept bouncing the ball until Bob Bishop threw his cell door open. "They've kidnapped my daughter." Bob handed Noah a gun. "Take it."

Noah followed Bob out of his cell as Company agents, guns drawn, patrolled Level Five.

"They're gone!" said one agent. "Every last one."

"We can't do anything more here," said Bob. "Everyone back upstairs. Meet in the briefing room."

Not one agent moved.

"What are you all waiting for?" Bob barked.

"My command." A small smile on her face, Angela Petrelli entered the hallway.

"I'm in charge here, Angela," said Bob.

"Not any more. There would be a slight conflict of interest if you were put in charge of hunting down your own daughter, wouldn't you say?"

"They kidnapped my daughter!" Bob shouted. "I saw Knox take her."

"Security footage shows that she deliberately electrocuted the security system. I'm sorry, Bob," Angela said in voice that held no sorrow.

"I won't allow this," Bob said desperately.

"I know you won't," said Angela. "Noah? Take Bob up to Level Four. We still have some working cells up there."

Noah pressed the gun into Bob's back. "Right this way, sir."

**XXXXX**

_Gideon Tsun, somewhere in Texas_

It had been easy for Gideon Tsun to steal a car and get out of Odessa. The Versa's previous owner was lying in the back seat with most of his head missing.

Gideon drove aimlessly, getting onto freeways, turning, and exiting almost randomly. He had nowhere to go. All he knew was that he had to get as far from Odessa as possible. He drove for hours.

Unsure of exactly where he was, Gideon chose to stop in a small town to find food and a place to rest. It was dark, but there were still some restaurants open. He stopped at a strip mall and ate some food. Afterwards, he decided to take advantage of his newfound freedom and explore the strip mall. Most of the stores were closed, but one comic book store was still open. Gideon walked inside.

The shelves were lined with comic books whose covers were so colorful that, after three years in the dull gray Level Five, they almost hurt Gideon's eyes. He wandered aimlessly among the shelves, occasionally pausing to open a book with a particularly interesting cover. But he gave them little thought until he found a copy of a comic called _9__th__ Wonders. _The cover depicted a scene that was all too familiar.

A teenage boy wearing a black shirt that read "One nation under God's wrath" was surrounded by the corpses of students and burning rubble. A great explosion was in the background. The cover said that the character was named Molotov.

Stunned by the similarities, Gideon opened the comic book. Everything was the same. The bullying, the glorious explosions, and the death toll over one hundred. The end even showed Molotov being tasered and captured by a man in horn-rimmed glasses. At the bottom were the words "To be continued."

Everything was too exact. Gideon had no doubts. He was Molotov. The comic was about him.

Gideon took the strange comic book to the cashier. "Is that all for you?" the cashier asked.

Gideon smiled politely. "Actually, I was wondering if there were any more books about this Molotov character."

The clerk shook his head. "No. When that issue got released there were a shitload of complaints from parents. It got even worse after that high school in Miami got bombed. The Molotov arc got discontinued after one issue. I heard that the writer, Isaac Mendez, finished three issues before that happened."

"So there're no copies of those other two issues out there?"

"The publisher may have gotten Mendez's manuscripts, but those are probably really hard to get a hold of."

"Hmm," said Gideon. "Do you know how I can contact this Isaac guy?"

"Don't bother. I heard he died."

"What about the publishing company?" Gideon checked the back cover. "Atlas Press?"

"I hear they're based in New York City."

"Thanks. You've been very helpful." Pulling out the wallet he'd taken from his latest victim, he paid for the comic book and left.

Next stop, New York.


	3. Alliances

**Chapter 3: **

**Peter, Matt, and Nathan, Odessa Hospital**

As surgeons and nurses bustled about, trying to save his brother's life, Peter Petrelli and Matt Parkman sat helplessly in the waiting room.

Peter planned. He could turn invisible, sneak into the operating room, find a syringe, and inject Nathan with his blood. But as a nurse, Peter knew that there were many things that could cause someone's body to reject a blood transfusion. Could all the abilities he had absorbed, all the alterations to his DNA, cause greater damage than good?

_We need Claire,_ he thought. _But I have no idea where she is!_

Sighing in frustration, Matt stood up and began pacing about the waiting room.

"Peter?" Peter looked up when he heard the woman's voice call his name. Angela Petrelli, dressed in black, made her way to her son's side. Her face was somber and her eyes downcast. She walked with the measured step of someone carrying a casket.

"Mom?" Peter said as his mother pulled him into a cold embrace. Before he realized why, Peter gasped and stiffened.

"Peter?" said Angela. "Is something wrong?"

"Y-yeah." Peter looked down into his mother's eyes. "With you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Something about you isn't right." Peter pulled away from his mother. "Emotionally."

"What's wrong with my emot…ah!"

Peter seized his mother's arm and pulled her toward him. His face an inch from hers, he growled softly, "Your son is in the hospital with two bullets in his chest. You should be nervous, excited. Your heart should be pounding out of your chest. You should be hoping and praying oh-so-desperately that Nathan pulls through. But you're not. You feel resigned, hopeless. You're accepting this. It's like you're already planning his funeral."

Angela did not notice Matt Parkman approach her from behind.

"She knew," said Matt. "She knew that someone was coming after Nathan."

Peter's face was contorted in anger. "You knew? You could have saved him!" Peter sighed, pressing his face into his hand. "But I have more important things to worry about. Where is Claire Bennet?"

Angela did not answer, but Peter could hear his mother's thoughts. _Costa Verde, California._

Peter shut his eyes.

"You can't!" said Angela.

Peter vanished.

**Sylar, Primatech Paper**

Sylar stood across the street from the Primatech Paper factory. Inside were perhaps hundreds of abilities, belonging to both agents and prisoners, waiting to become a part of him. He took a deep breath, eager to satisfy the hunger.

_Wait._

For a moment, Sylar thought he had imagined the woman's voice in his mind. But then he realized his body would not move. He struggled to take control of his muscles but he could not move an inch.

_Who are you? Why are you doing this?_ Sylar thought.

_My name is Sophie, _said the woman. _I want to help you._

_If you can do this you have a special ability. You should know that helping me may not be in your best interest._

_Oh, I know about that,_ said Sophie. _So long as I'm in here, you may as well be an open book._ Sylar felt as if little fingers were rummaging through his brain, poking open different parts so that unwelcome eyes could stare at them.

Sylar clenched his jaw angrily, one of the few motions Sophie still allowed him. _What do you want?_ Sylar asked.

_Like I said, I want to help you._ Sophie freed his arm. _Check your pocket._

Sylar reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a plane ticket. "Japan?" he whispered. "What's in Japan?"

_Someone who can give you true power._

Sylar gave Primatech one last look. But if he did not go to Japan, Sophie would surely force him to. So with some difficulty, Sylar turned his back on Primatech.

**XXXXX**

**Knox, Jesse, Flint, the German, and Elle**

The first thing Elle saw when she regained consciousness was a round, white, blurry object. As her eyes focused, the object formed eyes, a nose, a mouth, and a beard. It was Flint's face, uncomfortably close.

"She's not a toy, Flint," Jesse grumbled.

"She should be."

The conversation seemed oddly familiar to Elle, but she couldn't quite place it.

Knox pulled Flint away from her as Jesse roughly shook her awake. "You okay?"

As Elle realized she was in the company of four dangerous monsters, she jumped up, pointed her palm towards Jesse, and fired a bolt of lightning. The bolt flew off to the side and into the German's hand. The electricity flared around his fist before it dissipated.

"Whoa, whoa," said Jesse. "Calm down. What was that all about?"

Taking a deep breath, Elle tried to calm herself and look around. She had been sitting on the bench in front of a gas station convenience store. It was dark and the gas station was deserted.

"Why did you save us?" Knox asked bluntly.

_They think I saved them?_ If they found out that Elle hadn't saved them of her own free will, they would realize she was a danger and kill her.

"The Company mistreated me," said Elle. "They hooked me up to machines, shocked me with my own power, and covered it up by wiping my memories. All for the _greater good._" Bitterness slipped into Elle's voice as she forgot that she was supposed to be lying.

"Is that the truth?" asked Knox.

"It shouldn't be that hard to believe, considering how they treated you," said Elle.

"You seem nervous," said Knox.

"I just pissed off the Company," Elle snapped. "How do you think I'd feel?" Knox nodded, apparently accepting her story.

"So what do we do now?" asked Flint.

"The first thing we should do is get some wheels and get as far from here as possible," said Knox. "And speak of the devil." A black SUV pulled into the gas station.

Blue flames shrouded Flint's hands and the German cracked his knuckles as they headed towards the car.

**XXXXX**

**Sylar & Sophie, Aoyama Cemetery**

Under Sophie's guidance, Sylar flew to Japan and took a cab to a cemetery. As Sophie guided him to their destination, Sylar said, "I know what you can do."

_My ability? Astral projection?_

"Yeah. I know how it works. You can leave your body and float about freely. You can even enter someone else's body. Then, you can either allow your host to keep control of his body or take it over."

_Very perceptive._

"That's my talent. I see how things work. So this means that your flesh body is just laying somewhere?"

_Yes. And we're here._

Sylar looked down at a grave with freshly dug soil. "What am I supposed to do?"

_Dig up the coffin inside._

"Why? What's in there?"

_If you don't do it, I'll do it for you._

"Fine," said Sylar. Holding out his hands, palms up, clumps of dirt telekinetically floated upward, unearthing a coffin. Sylar lifted the coffin from its hole, set it down on the ground, and flipped the lid open, revealing a blond-haired man who did not show a sign of decay.

Sylar's watchmaker's eyes scanned the man's body. "You're like Claire," Sylar whispered before the man's eyes snapped open.

"Who are you?" the man demanded.

_Let me speak to him,_ said Sophie. Taking control of Sylar's voice, she said, "It's me, Adam."

Adam smiled. "Sophie?" Sophie nodded Sylar's head and smiled.

"And who's your friend?" he asked as he climbed out of the coffin.

"My name is Sylar," Sylar answered, regaining control of his voice.

"Adam," said the blond man. "Adam Monroe. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sylar." He held out his hand.

Sylar shook his hand. "The pleasure's all mine." With a flick from his free hand, the doors of a nearby mausoleum flew open. Adam flew through the air inside, followed by Sylar who slammed the doors shut behind him. Holding up his finger, Sylar traced a line of blood across Adam's forehead.


End file.
